At a recent CAS Council of Chairs meeting, the department chairs approved guidelines for this new award. Departmental fundraising efforts will be evaluated by examining the percentage increase of cash gifts, multi-year pledges, gifts-in-kind, and deferred gifts in the current fiscal year as compared to the departmental average over the last three fiscal years.  Departments will also be evaluated qualitatively in terms of their overall fundraising effort, which includes identifying and articulating funding priorities and engaging in cultivation and stewardship activities.   

Departments that excel in fundraising reap great benefits. Take, for example, the efforts of those in the Departments of History and Geography-Geology who recently worked in collaboration with the Development Office to secure a gift of $200,000 for student scholarships. A 1949 alum created the bequest to leave a legacy for students studying in the same areas he felt so connected to while a student at Illinois State Normal University. Gifts such as these rarely come to fruition without hard work at the departmental level in collaboration with the College Office and the Development Office. With the creation of the annual departmental fundraising award, the College hopes to encourage all departments to make fundraising a high priority.   

According to the College's Development Officer, Dorothy Witte, "Most large gifts from alumni are intended as a means of ‘giving back’ to the institution. These benefactors have very positive recollections of their college experience, usually involving one or more faculty who ‘made a difference’ in their life.” According to Witte, departments that make a concerted effort to be familiar with their alumni base and provide opportunities for involvement and recognition are creating a base of major donor prospects: “Building relationships is the ‘key’ to success in fundraising.”  Witte played an integral role in developing the criteria for the new award.